Information for ITAL Authors
Subject Content:
Information Technology and Libraries publishes material related to all aspects of libraries and information technology, including digital libraries, metadata, authorization and authentication, electronic journals and electronic publishing, telecommunications, distributed systems and networks, computer security and intellectual property rights, technical standards, geographic information systems, desktop applications, online catalogs and bibliographic systems, optical information systems, software engineering, universal access to technology, futuristic forecasting, library consortia, vendor relations, and technology and the arts.
Types of Contributions:
ITAL includes feature articles, communications, tutorials, reviews, and letters to the editor.
Feature articles consist of original research or comprehensive and in-depth analyses. Although longer works may be considerd, manuscripts of 3000 to 5000 words are most common. An abstract of 100 words or less should accompany article on a separate sheet.
Communications consist of brief research reports, technical findings, and application notes. Generally communications are 1000 to 3000 words in length. An abstract should be included, but is not absolutely required.
Book and Software Reviews Book reviews and software reviews are assigned by the respective editors. Contact the Book Review editor, Debra Shapiro at dsshapiro@wisc.edu. Readers wishing to review library-related software for the journal are invited to contact the software review editor, Andy Boze at Boze.1@nd.edu indicating their special areas of interest and expertise.
Tutorials are brief, instructional pieces on topics or issues of relevance.
Letters to the Editor may be submitted to the Editor for possible inclusion in the journal.
Instruction for Submissions:
1. Submit original, unpublished manuscripts only. Do not submit manuscript being considered for publication elsewhere. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the information in the manuscript, including references, statistics and URLs.
2. The editor prefers that manuscripts be submitted electronically, preferably as a Word attachment to an e-mail to the editor. If e-submission is not possible, manuscripts should be machine-printed and double-spaced. Two copies should be provided. In either format, author name, title, and affiliation should appear on a separate cover page only. This information should not be repeated in the text of manuscript, or in the abstract. Pages should be numbered. An abstract of 100 words or less should be provided on a separate sheet.
3. ITAL follows The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th edition for capitalization, punctuation, quotations, tables, captions, and elements of bibliographic style, including references. Spelling will follow Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th edition.
4. Information on submission of electronic copy, tables and illustrations, copyright forms, and other aspects of a final copy will be provided when a manuscript has been accepted for publication.
Review of Manuscripts:
ITAL is a refereed journal using double-blind reviewing. The editor assigns manuscripts to reviewers who receive the manuscript with no direct information on the author or author's affiliation. Reviewers examine the manuscript considering the following:
- Is the topic within scope of ITAL?
- Is it meaningful and relevant to ITAL readers?
- Does it offer something to the literature?
- Is it timely?
- Is the presentation that of an article or merely the text of a oral presentation?
- Is it organized well? Does it have a point?
- Are the citations complete and accurate?
Upon completing the review, a recommendation is presented to the editor as to the suitability of the manuscript for publication in ITAL. Recommendations fall into one of the following categories:
- publishable in its current condition
- significant and sound and should be published with only minor editorial revisions.
- basically significant and sound but requires some rewriting to make it a solid publishable contribution.
- requires major rewriting, and it should be reviewed again after a revised draft has been received.
- does not warrant publication as a full article but might be published as a Communication.
- does not warrant further consideration by ITAL.
The author is informed of the recommendation and any comments made by the reviewers. The review process takes six to eight weeks.
Information for Authors